Oughan
[Oughagan], John
(b.1782?), physician and military surgeon, was born in Ireland in
on about 1782. After some years spent in the United States, Dr.
Oughan was recruited to act as a surgeon in the Wars of
Independence. He sailed on the Clifton and arrived at
Buenos Aires on 9 February 1817, and attended the revolutionary armies in Argentina,
Bolivia and Peru.

In
the beginning of the nineteenth century Oughan appears to have acted
as the secretary of the Irish merchants in Buenos Aires.
On 28 June
1825 Oughan wrote to the Archbishop of Dublin arguing that “North America is not a country proper for
Irish settlers. These, their identity, their ancient faith,
and the peculiar cast of their national character, in
the mixture of many nations, is totally confounded and
lost for ever”. In promoting Argentina he wrote,
“Thanks to Providence a very different destiny awaits
them here. It would seem that Heaven had at length interposed
to protect some few of her faithful followers and created
this new world, as the land of promise where harassed
Irishmen may pause from toil and Christianity devastated
of all its secters and impurities may flower again and
become infallible”. Dr. Oughan went on to state
that “this country, fertile and vast beyond limits,
abounding with all that nature can furnish... will welcome
[the Irish] with special preference and instead of being
the drudges of the rest of mankind, may set themselves
down in societies in various parts of these boundless
plains...’ (McKenna 1994).

According to
Thomas Murray, Dr. Oughan was an "unrelenting
enemy of O’Higgins and San Martin and the governing
party in Buenos Aires; so, when he arrived in this city,
and his plan became known, Supreme Director Juan Martín
de Pueyrredon
made him a prisoner and placed the new ships and their
complements of men and munitions at the service of the
common cause. Oughan passed over to the liberating armies
under San Martin and remained for some time in Peru after
the independence of the western Republics had been secured.
He returned to Argentina in the early 1820s and at once
became a very noted doctor. He quarrelled with Parish,
the English Minister, and was shamefully persecuted by
him and the English then in Buenos Aires. [...] Early
in January 1825 Dr. Oughan’s furniture was sold
in public auction under orders of the English Minister.
Oughan, it appears, had made himself objectionable to
the English residents, and the English representative
had him confined in a hospital as a lunatic, and in due
time shipped to England. When he got home he instigated
proceedings at law against the Consul, in the high courts,
and got judgment on his favor. Soon after he returned
to Buenos Aires, ... made things rather unpleasant for
both the English Legation people and himself" (Murray
1919). In 1839 Ougaghan returned once more to Ireland
with his wife. He was considered a very distinguished
physician, and as a surgeon gained fame in England and
in France.